Size/physical
We will go next week for his 4 month check up and I will have his "stats" to report then. I will venture a guess that Jonathan is around 14lbs. I have packed up a lot of clothes this month! He can still fit into some 3 month things, but I have mostly been buying 3-6 or 6-9 month clothes to get us through winter. A lot of the 6-9 month clothes already fit him! His hair is looking light-colored (what little hair he has!) and his eyes are turning a cool brown-green color. I love them!
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| Can you tell his eye color in this picture?? |
Jonathan is a full-blown "supported sitter" now, as he can sit up for long periods in his high chair and bumbo. In the past few days it actually looks like he enjoys sitting in his high chair while we eat. He will reach for toys we put on his high chair tray and will hold on to them for a little while. They all go into his mouth, or at least he attempts to get them there. Jon said he will even reach out for the bottle and pull it towards his mouth once it is in his hands! Just yesterday morning as he was sitting in his highchair, he actually leaned forward to grab at toys, and would "sit up" by himself without leaning back against the chair. He loves to stand now and spends a lot of time on our laps alternating between sitting upright and then standing up. We have carried him face-forward in the Baby Bjorn a couple times and he LOVES it. We walk into a store and his eyes just light up and he ooohs and ahhhs all the way through it. I think he likes the feeling of being tall and "walking" around!
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| Leaning over to grab his toy |
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| Sitting up (and looking thrilled about it...) |
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| At IKEA |
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| Standing up! :) |
Eating
We don't really have an eating schedule, per se. For us, working on our napping schedule seemed to fit us better, and then feedings kind of evolve around that. Basically, he eats every 3-4 hours. But he can go a lot longer. I've seen him do it. I know he can. He doesn't seem to realize this in the middle of the night sometimes... He does okay with the bottle when I'm at work, but he is definitely a boob boy :). He often only does quick feedings on the bottle, taking 2-3oz at a time. We just switched to a medium flow bottle nipple and it seems that he is able to eat better from it now. Feeding times in general are tricky now that he is so distracted by everything! I have had to cover up the pillow that I made for the back of the nursery chair because he LOVES that pattern and will arch his head in any direction possible to see it. In case you were wondering, we don't plan to start solid foods before 6 months... for now his highchair time is just for playing!
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| Telling us a story in the kitchen |
Sleeping
I don't want to talk too much about our sleep situation because you know the blog curse. This week night time sleep has been improving. That is all I will say about night times! I WILL go ahead and say that this boy is a champion napper. He goes down usually without any fuss in his swing (which we turn off after 10 minutes or so) and will sleep from 1.5-3.5 hours! Also, a few times this week he has only taken 2 naps instead of his usual 3. He can stay up a bit longer between naps (2-3 hours instead of his previous 1.5-2 hours) which allows for the 2-nap day. I don't know if we will continue to be at the 2 nap schedule every day, because some days I bet he will do better with 3. It's nice to have the flexibility though! Another development this week is that Jonathan will sleep longer if he is more tired, whereas before, if we let him get too tired, his sleep was a wreck. (Don't worry--we're not planning on wearing our son out to the point of exhaustion every day.) He is still swaddled for all sleeping and I don't plan to change that any time soon!
Possibly my favorite sleep development this month is that Jonathan wakes up happy from sleep now. Most mornings when I hear that he is awake, I am so tired and do not want to get up. Then I think about the big smile I am going to get when I lean over his packnplay to get him, and suddenly I get a burst of energy. And he is full of smiles when we go in and get him up from naps. Oh these days are priceless...
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| Happy boy waking up from his nap |
Personality
Jonathan has always been a pretty calm, content baby. He will be fine laying by himself on his playmat, taking a walk, or sitting on the laps of 5 people one after the other. Definitely his laid-back attitude has not changed at all! This month we are seeing a new side of Jonathan's personality--he is so silly! He loves to laugh and will laugh at random things. Like sometimes if he just catches my eye he will crack up. Other times I will be doing a whole song and dance and maybe I will get one teensy smile out of him. I am so excited to see his sense of humor come out more these next few months. Some of Jonathan's favorite things: You know that he LOVES looking at himself in the mirror. And of course Clemson Football is at the top of the list. He really loves looking at anything and everything that is on a TV, computer, or phone screen (uh-oh...). He will be happy sitting on someone's lap for an hour reading like a dozen books. Seriously this kid loves books. His other favorite, favorite, FAVORITE thing is his hands, which we find jammed into his mouth most of the time. I think we have a future thumb sucker on our hands...
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| Yummy thumb |
Being silly with Aunt Soupy
Looking back over month 4, I can say that I have changed a whole lot in the past 30 days as a mom. Just 1 month ago we were in Columbia on a whirl-wind of a trip, and now we are back home, adjusted to going back to work. Every single day (more like every single hour) I get overwhelmed with how much love I have for this little guy and how much I truly just enjoy being around him. This month I have come to appreciate Jonathan more--who he is as an individual. When I look at him I still see the different features from each of us, but more often I just see him. I have had moments this month of getting super sentimental when I realize that he is growing up, and won't be my baby forever. I soak up these times when I get to snuggle with him, or nurse him, or watch him learn a new thing. Jonathan really knows us and it is fun to see him react to us differently than to others. When he meets a new person he acts shy sometimes and nuzzles into my shoulder to hide his face. It is adorable. I am his mommy. I looooove being his mommy!
Jon here real quick: Just wanted to add that being a dad has been awesome for me as well. I absolutely love seeing him grow and learn new things. And I'd say the best part is when he sees your face, recognizes it, and then gives a great big smile. In this way he has an amazing ability of making the worries of the world just fall away.
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| Our big 4 month old! We LOVE you, Jonathan! |
Oh my gosh, he is fantastic! What a growing boy! I also luh-huv the video you put up of him and Susan--so precious!
ReplyDeleteLove you guys!